Quint Kessenich: Major League Lacrosse Power Rankings, Week 8

It was All-Star Game hangover weekend for Boston and Denver: Rochester upset the Outlaws in Invesco and the Liz took down Boston, while Chesapeake topped Hamilton in overtime.

There are four games to go. The playoffs are the goal. Get into the postseason and anything can happen.

1. Boston (6-2) - The Cannons offense shot blanks in the second half, scoring just once in a 12-11 defeat to Long Island. Paul Rabil shot 2-of-18 and Brad Ross shot 1-of-9, while Ryan Boyle chipped in just one assist.

Boston has been playing at a high level, and the All-Star weekend was a bump in the road that disrupted its rhythm. The Cannons must stay injury-free and manage the hype, expectations and ignore their historical shortcomings, having never held the Steinfeld Cup.

Boston finishes with Hamilton, Denver, Hamilton and Rochester — a favorable draw to secure the No. 1 seed and first semi-final time slot on Aug. 27. In Vegas, Boston is the even money favorite to hoist the Cup.
2. Chesapeake (5-3) - In a weekend defined by upsets, Chesapeake got a critical OT win in Hamilton to tie Denver in the league standings.

The Bayhawks appear to have the finish line in their sights, and expect the men in blue to turn it up a notch in August. I'm not convinced their personnel is in physical shape to win consecutive games on August 27 and 28.

Chesapeake continues to shoot the ball poorly, missing the net 27 times in Hamilton. Their EMO (26%) is brutal and must be fixed. They own some high-end midfielders with low-end production.

The Bayhawks finish with Long Island, Hamilton, Rochester and Denver, with three of last four at home. Chesapeake will host Championship weekend regardless of seed.

3. Hamilton (4-4) - The Nationals have won three of four and regularly play a cornucopia of rookies, this week dressing six in their OT loss to Chesapeake. Rookie Jeremy Boltus (Army) is No. 8 in the MLL in scoring with 22 points and the ROTY favorite. Newbie midfielder David Earl (ND) has 14 points.

The Nationals have tilts with Boston twice, Chesapeake and Long Island — a difficult lineup to finish the summer.

4. Denver (5-3) - The Outlaws loss on July 3 to Boston in front of 27,000 fans in Invesco hurt, but losing to Rochester on Saturday at home may be catastrophic. Denver is reeling.

Denver was without the services of Brian Langtry and Drew Westervelt and had zero scoring punch, shooting 8-of-47. The lineup they dressed on Saturday is offensively challenged and not playoff quality.

Improvement comes with finding a viable young replacement for injured defender Eric Martin and developing more midfield scoring/dodging depth.

Denver is a putrid 2-3 at home this summer and still has to play at Rochester, at Long Island, Boston, and at Chesapeake — three of four on the road.

5. Long Island (3-5) - The Lizard Kings rallied in the second half, beating Boston and putting themselves back in the playoff hunt. Goalie Drew Adams made 24 saves and was a granite wall in the last 30 minutes.

The Lizards play Chesapeake, Rochester, Denver, and Hamilton — with their last three games at home.

A 6-6 record was good enough for fourth seed in 2010.

6. Rochester (1-7) - The stunner of the week. The Rats upset Denver in Invesco to claim their first win of 2011. New coach Tim Soudan is trying to build around Ned Crotty (4 points), Jordan Levine (2 goals), and John Galloway (19 saves). The Rats have been competitive in nearly every game this summer, and finally slammed the door shut in the fourth quarter, winning with defense, a timely goal from Levine and goaltending.

Rochester still must face Denver, Long Island, Chesapeake and Boston, but the win is affirmation for the players who have been starved of success for so long. The Rats are just a few puzzle pieces away from being in the hunt. With 2012 expansion to Columbus and Charlotte, I expect Rochester to elevate in the standings next year.

Quint Kessenich covers MLL for ESPN and Inside Lacrosse. MLL Championship weekend is August 27 and 28 in Annapolis, Md.